


Baby, You're the One

by JackEPeace



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-06-03 03:45:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6595267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackEPeace/pseuds/JackEPeace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Skimmons "Dirty Dancing" AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baby, You're the One

**Author's Note:**

> Well here we are again: I'm going to ramble off some author's note about how I just intended to do a short little fic because the idea of a Dirty Dancing AU was too good to pass up and then I'm going to talk about how apparently I had a lot of feels buried somewhere deep inside of me about Dirty Dancing and how I never intended for this fic to become as long as did and all of that is very true. I also know that I very much enjoyed writing this and have spent most of today pondering whether my students would understand if I randomly told them that "nobody puts Baby in a corner." 
> 
> Speaking of, it took a lot of self-control not to call this story "Nobody Puts Jemma Simmons in a Corner" but I managed to resist. Instead the title comes from the song "Love is Strange" which is featured in my favorite part of "Dirty Dancing." 
> 
> Now, excuse me while I go watch Dirty Dancing...

Jemma absently spreads peanut butter across the toast on her plate, turning the page in the book that's spread out across her lap. She's trying to conceal it from view from her parents, though she has the feeling that they aren't fooled for a moment, especially because she hasn't looked up from her lap for the past five minutes. The din of conversation spreads all around her but Jemma can't bring herself to be distracted by the chatter of the guests at the resort or of her parents and older sister, who are only inches away from her.

Not that Jemma thinks she's missing anything. Her sister, Lisa, is in the middle of another tantrum, which isn't something that Jemma wants to break her concentration for. They've been at the resort for the past two weeks and she's pretty sure that the complaints have been Lisa's constant refrain since they got into the car to drive here in the first place.

"I'm just saying," Lisa continues, though it sounds more like whining than saying if you ask Jemma, "that staying here all summer seems like overkill. A few weeks, a month, that's more reasonable. Why do we have to stay the whole summer?"

Jemma flips another page in her book, rolling her eyes. Lisa has a boyfriend back home and cell phone service here is pretty shitty, hence her constant whining. Not that she wants their parents to know that.

"We always spend our summers here." Richard points out cheerfully as he takes a sip of coffee. "It's a Simmons family tradition."

Lisa starts whining again and Richard interrupts with, "There's plenty to do here. There are more activities and chances for entertainment than you'd have just hanging around the house at home. You're enjoying yourself, aren't you Jemma?"

"I'm having the time of my life." Jemma replies dutifully, looking up from her book to make the words sound more sincere.

Honestly, she doesn't really care where they spend their summer. As long as she's got textbooks and journals and a place to read them, she's content.

Richard grins, patting her on the shoulder. "That's the spirit."

Lisa glares at her but before Jemma can retort, something across the dining hall catches her eye. Or rather, someone. In the two weeks that they've already spent at the resort, Jemma can't remember seeing this girl before. And she would definitely remember someone who looked like her.

The girl is standing near the silver serving dishes lined up to make the breakfast buffet. She appears to be filling a cloth napkin with various items from the buffet, stopping only to occasionally cast furtive glances around her to make sure that no one is watching. She seems surprised when her eyes catch on Jemma's, as though she never actually expected anyone to take note of her actions. When it quickly becomes clear that Jemma isn't about to rat her out, she grins, smirking in Jemma's direction before sticking a piece of bacon into her mouth and turning to go.

Of course, she turns right into a man who looks perfectly comfortable wearing a suit at seven in the morning. Jemma knows him as Phil Coulson, a friend of her father's and the owner of the resort. The girl quickly swallows the bacon in her mouth, hiding her hands behind her back and trying to look relaxed and casual as Coulson engages her in conversation.

Jemma has to hide her laugh with a cough, taking a bite of her toast when her family looks in her direction.

"Jemma," her mother begins, "your father and I do wish you would find some activities to get involved in. Since you spend all your time reading."

Richard rolls his eyes at his wife. "She's studying for school." He remarks. "Leave her alone."

Jemma smiles gratefully at her father but doesn't miss the way that Lisa rolls her eyes. Lisa addresses her by "Daddy's Little Princess" more than her actual name, not that Jemma cares about her older sister's teasing. She has more important things to focus on.

Right now, those things happen to be the girl in the rumpled staff uniform trying to hide a napkin full of eggs and sausage from her boss.

It seems like kismet when one of the waiters come by their table to fill their glasses and coffee cups. Jemma recognizes him from the lunch and dinner shifts and from the past year they spent at the resort. She nudges Mack with her elbow when he bends closer to the table to refill her glass. "Who is that?" She whispers, letting her gaze flick toward the girl.

Mack follows her eyes and gives her a genuine smile, far different from the one he usually wears when catering to the entitled guests. "Oh, that's Daisy. She's one of the dance instructors."

Before Mack can supply her with any more information, one of the aforementioned entitled guests snaps for his attention and Mack plasters his fake smile back in place before turning away from their table and hurrying to fulfil the other order.

Jemma makes a thoughtful noise, watching as the girl is finally dismissed by Coulson and hurries from the dining hall with her pilfered breakfast still hidden carefully in her hands. Dance, huh?

* * *

 

After breakfast, Jemma slips out to the main pool deck to check the activities schedule posted on the bulletin boards. There are already children splashing around in the pool, shouting and shrieking as they dive and splash around, ignoring the half-hearted whistles of the lifeguard. A few already tanned men and women are lounging around, hoping for some sun that hasn't even finished rising yet.

Jemma runs her finger along the rows of neatly typed titles, times and locations. She finally spots a class vaguely titled "Intro to Dance," led by Daisy and Lincoln after lunch. There's a sign-up fee but she dismisses that piece of information quickly; her father will hand the money over easily enough, especially since he's been handing Lisa cash for the past two weeks in an effort to get her whining to stop.

It might be a little pathetic but Jemma is definitely willing to learn a few dance steps if it gets her in the same room with Daisy again.

When Jemma returns to the bungalow they've rented for the summer, she finds her mother already getting into her swimsuit and Lisa flopped over on the bed, bemoaning her rotten luck while their father checks his email.

"Mum, I was thinking about what you said at breakfast." Jemma says casually, slipping off her flip-flops and sitting on the couch. "I think I might try some of the activities."

Richard looks surprised while Katherine just looks pleased with herself. "Wonderful. Would you be interested in the pottery class? I've enjoyed it and it's something we could do together and-"

"Actually, I was thinking about a dance class." Jemma interrupts before her mother can get too involved in her mother-daughter bonding fantasy. "There's one this afternoon."

Just as predicted, Richard gives her the money that she needs to sign up and Jemma endures a few stories from her parents about their own misguided efforts to learn how to dance. It almost makes her feel guilty because she's not exactly signing up because she wants to learn how to waltz or foxtrot. But she's not about to confess that she's more interested in the instructor than the dances; she's embarrassed enough to admit it to herself.

* * *

 

"You here for the dance class?" The guy standing by the entrance to the cabin looks bored, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. The badge pinned to his staff shirt reads "Lincoln" and his sharp, handsome features are studying her dubiously. "The intro class?"

Jemma nods, smiling uncertainly. "Yes?"

Lincoln only shrugs, taking the money from her and gesturing for her to enter the cabin. Quickly, Jemma understands his skepticism. It seems like the class is popular with people even older than her parents. Not that it really matters. Jemma can see Daisy standing off in one corner, nodding along with whatever an older gentleman is saying to her and she feels her heart jump in excitement. God, how embarrassing.

Before Jemma can think about turning away and disappearing to a quiet, private corner of the resort where she can deal with her embarrassment all by herself, Daisy looks over at her and their eyes meet. It seems like Daisy is very good at figuring out when she's being stared at.

Jemma stays, rooted in place, as Daisy crosses the bare floor space toward her. She feels pinned by the smile on Daisy's face and the hint of amusement that she can see in her eyes. "Well, well, we meet again."

"Technically, we didn't meet before." Jemma points out. "We were just in the same room, occupying the same space and the same time and…" She stops because she suddenly feels like an idiot.

At least Daisy is still smiling at her, though Jemma can't figure out if it's a laughing-at or laughing-with type smile. "In that case, I'm Daisy." She sticks out her hand and gives Jemma's a shake. "Are you sure you're in the right place?" She asks once when Jemma has given her own name.

Jemma blinks at her. "What do you mean? I-"

"In case you haven't noticed," Daisy steps closer, lowering her voice, "everyone looks like they're one senior citizens' breakfast away from death."

Jemma laughs and then claps a hand over her mouth guiltily. "That's not true." She says but she has the feeling Daisy doesn't exactly believe her.

Plus, it is true.

"Not that I'm trying to chase you off or anything." Daisy says with a shrug. "Just wanted to give you the full disclosure. I'm perfectly happy having someone around who doesn't look like they're about to keel over."

"I think I'm in the right place." Jemma assures her as boldly as she can. "Intro to Dance, right? I want to learn to dance."

Stretching the truth a bit but it works.

Daisy grins and nods. "Okay, cool. But I'm totally claiming you for a partner; Lincoln is going to have to stick with Grams over there."

Jemma is impressed by the way she manages to keep her face mostly impassive in response to Daisy's comment. She manages to make it seem like she hears comments like this all the time, like she's always being underhandedly complimented by pretty girls. Because that totally counts as a compliment, right?

Right.

For the first part of the class, Daisy and Lincoln do a lot of demonstrating. They seem comfortable with one another and totally at ease as they run through the steps time and time again, offering pointers to the handful of people standing around watching. The dance is relatively simple, nothing more than a fancier box step and Jemma is pretty sure that even she can pick it up and she's always considered herself incapable of carrying a rhythm. She tries not to let herself get impatient for the actual dancing portion of the class to begin; she doesn't want to hold Daisy to her earlier words, doesn't want to be disappointed if Daisy sticks with Lincoln or can't do much more dancing, seeing as she is supposed to be the instructor.

But when Daisy and Lincoln instruct them to partner up, Daisy heads in her direction and Jemma smiles at her. "That was some fancy footwork."

Daisy rolls her eyes. "I hope you aren't disappointed." Daisy remarks, holding out her hand to Jemma. "We try and keep things pretty simple, especially this early in the summer."

Jemma smiles, though it's mostly because of the way that her hand fits right against Daisy's and because Daisy's hand is currently resting on her hip. "I thought it was great." Which might be stretching the truth a bit.

"Yeah, it's a blast." Daisy remarks dryly as she leads Jemma through the steps. "It's better than kitchen duty, which is what I was doing last year."

"That explains why I've never seen you before." Jemma instantly regrets her words, wondering if they're too embarrassing or forward.

But Daisy doesn't seem to think anything of them. "Yeah, I was grateful to Mack for getting me the job but…" She makes a face, wrinkling her nose. "I think I've had enough of cleaning wet food off fancy dishes."

Even though they're just moving through the same few simple dance steps over and over, Jemma doesn't mind. She's sure that Daisy's responsibilities as an instructor will come into play sooner or later but right now Lincoln seems like he has it all under control and she's not going to complain about the weight of Daisy's hand against her side.

"Well, I'm sure you're a fabulous dance instructor." Jemma tells her. "I've certainly mastered these particular steps."

Daisy looks at her skeptically. "I'm sure a toddler could figure this out sooner or later." She mutters and Jemma decides not to take it as an insult. "If you really want to dance, you should come by the staff cabins after hours."

"Oh, I don't know how to dance." Jemma blurts out quickly rather than allow herself to start wondering if Daisy's words were an invite or just someone making conversation. Her thoughts are already tangled, debating Daisy's intentions and it seems safer just to give herself an out and never take dance class again.

"I can teach you." Daisy grins. "I know more than just the box step." She assures her with a wink.

Jemma is pretty sure that's an invite more than just casual conversation. "Oh. Well…perhaps I could…"

"You should." Daisy says, bringing them to a stop. Jemma feels a sting of disappointment as Daisy steps away, though she manages to stamp it down.

She watches as Daisy rejoins Lincoln at the front of the class and the two of them offer half-hearted compliments before informing their small group that class is over for the day and they'll be back on Wednesday.

Jemma is pretty sure that she's going to be back.

* * *

 

"I'm going for a walk." Jemma announces as her mother starts making remarks about heading off to bed.

Katherine looks at her dubiously and even Lisa looks at her with interest. "It's a little late for a walk." Katherine remarks.

Jemma quickly picks her book up off the arm of the couch, even though she finished it earlier that day. Well, that might be a little strong; she half read it while she thought about Daisy.

"I'm just going to read." Jemma assures her mother. "It's a nice night out."

Seventeen years of always doing what she's been told definitely pay off because her parents don't ask any more questions, reminding her only to take a room key and be quiet when she comes back in.

Jemma quickly ditches her book on the front porch of the bungalow, heading through the resort grounds toward the staff cabins. She assumes that she's heading in the right place, after all; it's the only place the guests aren't allowed to go.

It's clear that after-hours, the staff don't head off to bed to get some much needed sleep before dealing with guests the next day. Not if the music and sounds of laughing and conversation are any indication. Jemma passes a few people sitting out on porches, talking and drinking beer or playing card games where the object is apparently to drink more beer and even though they look at her with curiosity and interest, they don't bother to ask her why she's here or where she's going.

Not that Jemma really knows the answer to that either. She probably should have gotten a few more details from Daisy but she'd been too worried about coming off as cool and nonchalant to ask for directions and specifics. Now she has no idea where to find Daisy and she's not too keen on wandering into every staff cabin with an open door hoping to find her.

Thankfully, luck is on her side.

"Hey." The voice belongs to Lincoln, coming up the path behind her. He's loaded down with bags of ice, which probably explain the look of discomfort on his face; Jemma would rather not believe that her presence is the cause for such an expression. "You're from the dance class, right?"

Jemma nods, lacing her hands together nervously. "Yes. I was…hoping to find-"

"Daisy." Lincoln supplies and it doesn't really sound like a question. Instead he just smiles, shaking his head. "Of course." He stops, passing off one of the ice bags so that he can hold the other two more comfortably in his hands. "Follow me."

Jemma doesn't bother to complain about her sudden role as pack mule, instead hurrying after Lincoln as he leads her to one of the cabins. She probably could have guessed that this was the right place; it's the most crowded and the loudest, both good things when looking for a party.

Honestly, Jemma had no idea that this many staff even worked at the resort. It seems like there are more bodies packed into this space than there are guests at the resort and she doesn't know how anyone manages to think in a place like this, let alone carry on a conversation like she sees plenty of people attempting. Those who aren't are taking full of advantage of the impromptu dancefloor, ignoring the furniture that has been pushed out of the way and against the walls. Jemma's ears are already ringing from the bass pounding from the speakers and she has no idea how the people standing so close to them -fighting over what song to place next- can stand it.

And then Jemma sees Daisy and everything seems a lot less loud and stifling. Daisy is dancing with Mack and her moves are nothing like the kind that Jemma witnessed during the dance class earlier that day. Gone is Daisy's staff polo and khaki skirt; instead she's wearing jeans and a dark top that looks quite impressive on her. Though, to be fair, Jemma would probably say the same about her staff uniform.

Daisy has no problem keeping up with the music, moving her hips in time with the beat and her movements are so fluid and perfect that Jemma feels her mouth start to go dry and she feels like she can't take her eyes off Daisy as she moves. She could never learn to dance like that but she knows that her focus on Daisy isn't because of envy.

"Come on." Lincoln is practically shouting in her ear, his voice startling Jemma out of her reverie. "You're going to melt the ice."

Jemma swallows and forces herself to look away from Daisy, following Lincoln through the crush of bodies toward the kitchen. People immediately flock to the ice, though Jemma thinks it has less to do with wanting to cool their drinks and more with the fact that it's like an oven in the cabin and someone presses a red cup into her hand and she figures that the fact that she's a guest doesn't really matter because she's brought ice to the party.

She turns down the offers of alcohol in favor of water, quickly trying to muscle her way back through the crowd in the kitchen in hopes of making it outside so she can get some air and calm the buzzing of her thoughts. Of course, Jemma doesn't get more than a foot before she runs right into someone. And that someone just so happens to be Daisy.

"I thought that was you." Daisy grins, stepping out of her space and pulling Jemma off to the side so they're out of the doorway. "I wasn't sure if you were going to come."

Jemma shrugs. "I had to see some real dancing for myself." She says, leaning in to avoid shouting. She doesn't exactly want the whole kitchen to be privy to their conversation. "That was definitely not the box step."

Her comment earns another smile from Daisy. "No, I guess not." She reaches for Jemma's hand. "Let's dance."

Jemma feels her heart start to speed up in her chest and it's not just from the sudden contact. "No, that's okay." She says quickly with a shake of her head. "I wasn't kidding earlier when I said I couldn't dance. I would only embarrass you."

"I'm sure that's not true." Daisy says but she doesn't seem like she's going to press the issue. Instead, she keeps her hand in Jemma's, leading her toward the back door, which lets out onto a screened in porch.

There are a few people hanging around but far less than the crowd gathered out front. It's not exactly quiet but the music isn't quite as aggressive this far from the speakers. They take a seat on the porch steps, which aren't exactly built for two but Jemma isn't going to complain about sitting shoulder to shoulder with Daisy.

"So if you didn't come to dance, then why did you come?" Daisy questions and she sounds more like she's making conversation than grilling Jemma on her motives.

But that doesn't exactly make Jemma want to admit the truth behind said motives. "Well…I thought you said you could teach me how to dance."

"I can." Daisy shrugs a shoulder. "But it'll be kind of hard to do that if you refuse to actually dance."

Jemma starts to retort but Daisy obviously has a point here. "I…I'd rather not make a fool of myself in front of all those people." She admits.

Daisy lifts an eyebrow. "So you're going to just keep coming to intro to dance class?" She questions. "I mean, I know we're going to work on the foxtrot next time but surely what's going on inside is more interesting."

While Jemma feels like Daisy has another valid point, she's definitely not going to let herself be talked into going back into that room and trying to keep up with all those people. She'd like to retain some of the dignity that she's lost since this morning.

"Well…" Jemma suddenly brightens as an idea streaks through her mind. "Maybe you could give me private lessons."

Daisy furrows her brow slightly. "I don't-"

"I could pay you." Jemma interrupts, seizing on the idea. "I could even have my father ask Mr. Coulson if it was alright. They're close friends."

At this comment, Daisy's expression becomes briefly unreadable and she hesitates; Jemma is certain that her suggestion is about to be refused and she feels like an idiot for even bringing it up. But then Daisy is smiling again, even if it's not quite as bright as her previous grins have been. "Okay. But don't tell Coulson, okay? He's got, you know, a ton of other stuff to deal with."

Jemma smiles and nods. "No problem." She holds out her hand for Daisy to shake. "It's a deal."

Daisy rolls her eyes, shaking her head and the previous spark returns to her smile. She shakes Jemma's hand and then lets it linger, her fingers brushing against Jemma's.

* * *

 

They meet down by the lake, which is the last place that Jemma would have imagined for a dance class. But Daisy is the instructor, after all, so she's not about to question her methods. The lake is deserted, quiet after a morning and afternoon full of guests wanting to learn to waterski or jet ski or otherwise take pictures of themselves having a great time over the summer to take home at the end of the week or month. But it's dinnertime now so they have the place to themselves. Jemma figures that she has another lie to her growing collection; this morning, it was that she needed money from Richard for badminton lessons and she's also feigned exhaustion and a stomach ache to get out of joining her family for dinner so that she could meet Daisy instead. It's not like she's doing anything wrong. This isn't _Footloose_ , after all; dancing it's illegal.

There's not a lot of structure to these 'dance classes.' They primarily consist of Daisy showing her a few steps, humming along with the music from the speakers sitting on the dock as she leads Jemma through the motions. But eventually they get tangled up -Jemma misses a step, they lose count, or otherwise get distracted- and just dissolve into laughter, giving up on their lessons for the day. Instead, they sit on the edge of the dock, bare feet dangling in the water, enjoying the splash of color as the sun sets over the lake and the comfortable ease of conversation.

A week passes just like this and Jemma is certain that she's never enjoyed herself as much during their family vacations as she has over the past seven days. She's gotten pretty good at spinning lies off the top of her head, varying her stories and the times that she slips off to meet with Daisy so that her parents don't get suspicious. She can tell that Lisa is particularly interested in her sudden absences but she's still too wrapped up in trying to convince their parents to take them home early so that she can salvage something of a summer with her boyfriend. Jemma is always careful to bring along a book or a well-worn scientific journal along with her, though the props that give her story credibility often end up discarded on the bank or at the top of the dock while she and Daisy practice near the water.

"Stop looking at your feet." Daisy instructs, her words whispering against Jemma's cheek thanks to her proximity. Jemma swallows and lifts her head, nearly hitting Daisy in the jaw. "You're too tense. This isn't formulaic dancing this is just…fun."

Jemma nods, trying to focus on the music rather than the fact that Daisy is pressed against her back, trying to help her loosen up and just dance. This isn't the type of dancing that Daisy and Lincoln teach at their class; this is the type of dancing that so captivated Jemma when she walked into that staff cabin over a week ago.

She definitely doesn't think she can do that type of dancing.

"Relax." Daisy says and not for the first time.

"I can't relax." Jemma grumbles without thinking. "You're too close."

Of course, this was a truth that Jemma had never intended on revealing. So far, she feels like she's done a pretty good job of making it seem like her interests in these largely unstructured dance lessons were primarily about the dancing itself. She feels like she's done a pretty good job of making it seem like spending time with Daisy was only a nice bonus to learning how to dance and returning home some sort of foxtrot aficionado.

Clearly the only thing she's really effective at is blowing her own cover.

But rather than step back, rather than give Jemma the chance to fumble out some excuse about how that's not what she meant and rather than offer up her own comments about how that's not how things are between them, Daisy just pulls her closer, which Jemma hadn't even thought possible prior to that second. Jemma is certain that she can feel the pounding of Daisy's heart, matching the erratic beating of her own. Daisy's hand suddenly seems heavy against her hip, sliding across her stomach to keep her close as her breath whispers against Jemma's cheek once again.

It seems only natural for Jemma to turn her head back, her lips ghosting against Daisy's. It's not much of a kiss given their position but her intention is clear anyway and Jemma can't help but wonder if she's really done as good a job of concealing her intentions as she's thought.

Daisy turns her around, keeping her hands on her hips; Jemma finds that it's just as easy to follow her lead in this as it is when she's leading her across the dance floor. It's also much easier to kiss her properly like this and Jemma doesn't hesitate in taking advantage of the change of position.

One of Daisy's hands leaves her hip to come to rest against Jemma's cheek and Jemma sighs against her mouth. Jemma is pretty sure that she's seeing stars but she'll contemplate that phenomenon later when she's not focused on Daisy.

"We should have done this sooner." Daisy says when they finally move away to catch their breath and the sight of her flushed cheeks only makes Jemma want to kiss her even more.

Jemma just nods and then leans into kiss Daisy again because, really, what is she waiting for?

* * *

 

It should come as no surprise that, after that evening, the dance lessons become even more of a ruse than they were before. Jemma doesn't even bother to attempt to rationalize her motives to herself anymore; it's clear that her primary focus is spending time with Daisy.

Daisy doesn't seem to have any complaints about this particular change, abandoning her role as dance instructor without complaint. Though, honestly, Jemma wouldn't complain if Daisy were still trying to lead her through the steps of the waltz, as long as it meant that she could be close to her.

According to her parents, Jemma is becoming quite proficient at every activity offered by the resort, which certainly pleases her mother, who is happy to see her doing something other than sitting on the porch of the bungalow with her face buried in a textbook. Of course, what Jemma is becoming proficient in is Daisy and a variety of activities that are not offered by the resort. When Daisy isn't teaching dance classes, Coulson has her doing a number of odd jobs and she doesn't complain when Jemma tags along to give her a hand with fishing golf balls out of the sand-traps and shallows or fetching tennis balls from the woods. It takes them longer than necessary to accomplish most of these tasks but Coulson doesn't complain because Daisy is always in a good mood when she comes back with a basket full of golf balls or when he sends her off on various errands.

"What's wrong with you?" Lisa questions bluntly one morning when Jemma is lost in thought, letting her mind slip back to the even before when she and Daisy went down to the lake to go swimming and spent more time kissing than working on their backstroke.

Jemma looks at her, surprised. Her surprise quickly turns to embarrassment when both Katherine and Richard stop their conversation to see what their eldest daughter is referring to. Jemma clears her throat and stabs a piece of pineapple with her fork. "What are you talking about?"

"You." Lisa says in an accusatory tone. "You're acting strangely. Something is different about you."

Well, it could possibly be the fact that she spends the majority of her time falling in love with Daisy and lying to her parents about her whereabouts but Jemma isn't about to give Lisa the benefit of being right about her observation.

Instead, Jemma just rolls her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Lisa about to start protesting when Richard interrupts. "She's enjoying herself." He tells Lisa frankly. "She's got color in her cheeks. It's what happens when you spend your summer outside instead of moping around and complaining all the time."

Richard looks at Jemma, clearly pleased with these perceived changes in his daughter and Jemma almost feels guilty but she manages to neatly skirt that particular emotion, smiling at her father instead.

Lisa just rolls her eyes and using this as an opportunity to launch again into the unfairness of being trapped here all summer.

Jemma isn't about to complain that they still have another month at the resort. After all, that's all the more time she can spend with Daisy.

* * *

 

"I thought you were the dance instructor." Jemma remarks as she follows Daisy down toward the lake. They're here on official business for once, as disappointing as that change might be. "Are your sure Mr. Coulson is aware of that?"

"Ha, ha." Daisy mutters as she tosses the hose to the ground and sets down her bucket of soapy water and sponges. "I think he just wants to keep me busy so I stay out of trouble."

Jemma smirks. "You? In trouble? I simply don't believe it."

Daisy picks up the hose, pointing it threateningly in her direction. "Watch it. I'm armed and dangerous."

Jemma quickly steps out of her range, just to be on the safe side. "Hey, watch it. Or I'll go play shuffle board with Rose and Roger." She'd gotten the invite from two of the regulars at Daisy and Lincoln's Intro to Dance class just an hour before and she's certain that it's still on the table.

Daisy barks out a laugh, shaking her head. "They would love that. Sure you want to spend your time watching me wash the canoes when you could be doing…literally anything else."

There's a touch of seriousness to her tone that Jemma picks up easily, mostly because she's heard it before. Sometimes it's hard for her to believe that Daisy has anything to be uncertain or self-conscious about but sometimes she seems to doubt the fact that Jemma actually wants to spend as much time with her as possible. Even if that means traipsing through eighteen holes to find abandoned golf balls or watching her wash canoes.

The sounds of the other resort guests trying their hand at water sports and otherwise invading what Jemma considers to be their private spot doesn't deter Jemma from stepping toward Daisy and putting her hands on her shoulders. "Why would I want to do anything else?" She questions, half-teasing, mostly serious.

Daisy kisses her and it doesn't last nearly as long as Jemma would like, given the whole canoe washing duty that is currently hanging over Daisy's head. Jemma lets her go reluctantly, perching on a fallen log to watch as Daisy half-hearted throws soapy water onto the canoes and then blasts them with the hose.

Jemma feels herself starting to zone out -as she's been known to do lately, thanks for the very person in front of her- watching Daisy as she works. She's pretty sure that it's her right to appreciate Daisy's tanned skin, her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, her cut off shorts and her-

Jemma's mental wanderings quickly evaporate when she's hit in the face with water from the hose. It was a sprinkling more than a full-force blast but it's pretty obvious that it was an intentional assault, especially given the all too innocent way that Daisy is looking at her. "What?" Daisy questions with a shrug as she casually goes back to spraying the hull of one of the canoes. "You were looking a little flushed; thought you might want to cool off."

Well, two can definitely play that game.

Jemma quickly gets to her feet, hurrying over to Daisy and snatching one of the soapy sponges out of the bucket. Her aim is, for once, right on and the sponge connects right with Daisy's chest, leaving a sudsy square behind.

After that, well, all is fair in love and war.

Jemma is pretty sure that not a single inch of her is dry by the time they eventually give up and drop down to the sandy bank, tangled together and laughing. She's going to have a pretty hard time explaining this to her parents but she can't bring herself to regret engaging in a water fight with Daisy. It might not be on the resort's list of activities but she can't imagine having this much fun at pottery class.

Daisy rolls over so that she's propping herself up on one elbow, studying Jemma like she's never seen her before. Jemma looks at her suspiciously. "What?"

"Nothing." Daisy pushes a lock of damp, sandy hair away from Jemma's cheek. "You just aren't like the other guests that usually come here."

Jemma smiles. "You mean you don't spray them with hoses and throw them in the sand?"

"Not usually, no." Daisy laughs. "I think Coulson would frown on that."

Jemma quirks an eyebrow. "So I get the special treatment, huh?" She teases.

In response, Daisy leans forward and kisses her and the canoes go unwashed for a little while longer.

* * *

 

The following morning, Jemma once again finds herself ignoring Lisa as she continues her diatribe about wasted summers, just like she always does. Jemma isn't going to be surprised when her sister complains the morning of their last day at the resort, even as they're loading the bags into the car.

Richard sighs, taking a sip of his coffee. "You know, your mother and I have been talking." At that, Jemma suddenly finds herself paying attention. "We think you might have a point, Lisa. You girls are getting older now, we know you have interests different from spending your summers here."

Lisa breaks into her first real grin since they left home and Jemma feels her eyes go wide. "Wait. We're leaving?"

Richard pats her on the hand. "This why you'll have more time before leaving for school to relax and adjust and get yourself prepared."

"But…" Jemma shakes her head, quickly banishing her father's suggestion from her mind. Who cares about getting ready for school when she still has three weeks and two days to spend with Daisy. "We can't leave."

Lisa is glaring at her and her father just looks conflicted. "Well-"

"I signed up for the end of season show." Jemma blurts out quickly, uncertain of why that was the first thing to come to her mind. It certainly sounds better than mentioning her relationship with Daisy.

This announcement seems to catch everyone at the table completely by surprise and Lisa even stops her glowering long enough to look at her with a touch of shock. After all, Jemma isn't the type of person to sign up for any activity that doesn't involve the word 'science.'

"You signed up for the show?" Katherine repeats skeptically.

Jemma clears her throat and nods. "Yes. I've been…you know, taking that dance class and I thought…well it seemed like a good opportunity to show off what I had been learning…" She picks up her fork and ducks her head, pushing her breakfast around on her plate.

Richard grins. "Splendid! Well, we certainly can't miss that."

"What!" Lisa practically bursts out of her seat, just narrowly managing to avoid pushing her chair back into Mack, who happened to have the misfortunate of walking behind her at the moment. "Why am I not surprised?" She snaps, throwing down her napkin and hurrying from the dining hall.

Jemma clears her throat, trying to seem unruffled by Lisa's outburst. She might almost feel bad if she wasn't already thinking about seeing Daisy again. Not to mention, she now has to figure out how she's going to get out of actually performing at the end of season show.

* * *

 

"So, I accidently told my parents that I had signed up to dance at the end of season show."

Daisy doesn't even try to suppress her laughter, practically falling off the edge of the dock and into the water. Jemma is tempted to push her the rest of the way. "What?" She protests, glaring at Daisy. "Why is that so funny?"

"Well," Daisy says, attempting to swallow down her laughter, "you really haven't learned anything about dancing. I mean, I don't want to say that you're terrible because you do have a pretty good teacher but…" She trails off, dissolving into laughter once more. "Are you really going to sign up for the show?"

Jemma sighs, crinkling her nose. Of course, these are all things that she has thought about as well. "I didn't know what else to do." She grumbles. "I was thinking you might be my partner. And we could come up with something."

Daisy looks at her dubiously but Jemma can already tell that she's going to go along with this ridiculous idea. "Fine." She says with a bit of forced reluctance. "But I'm not going to do any crazy lifts or anything so you can just get that out of your head."

"Of course." Jemma rolls her eyes. "I wouldn't dream of you being able to do something so impressive."

Daisy gives her a shove that almost lands her in the water. Jemma thinks they might have to start spending their time together somewhere less precarious.

* * *

 

"Hey, don't look down." Daisy snaps her fingers, gesturing for Jemma to lift her chin. "I thought we talked about this; if you watch your feet, you're going to trip. Keep your eyes up, right here." She points to her own face.

Jemma does as she's been instructed, not bothering to point out that looking into Daisy's face is even more distracting than looking down at her feet to make sure she's got the right steps. It only makes her think about how close they are and how they're wasting that closeness on practicing their routine.

Even though the dance they're doing is tame by modern standards, Jemma can't help but try and step a little closer to Daisy, trying to lower her hand toward the small of her back. The movement throws off their rhythm and Daisy brings them to a stop. "You're invading my dance space." She informs Jemma sternly, repositioning them so they're the correct distance apart.

Jemma rolls her eyes. "You're no fun." She groans, pulling away from Daisy and dropping onto the dock, leaning against the railing.

Daisy smirks. "Hey, if you want to get up there and dance like that in front of your parents and my bosses, then be my guest." She shrugs. "I thought you wanted to go for traditional."

Unfortunately, Daisy has a point. Traditional is probably the way to go. Traditional and short, so as to limit the amount of time she has to be doing this in front of people who aren't Daisy.

"Come on." Daisy steps in front of her, holding out her hand. "Let's try it again. We don't have long before dinner."

Grudgingly, Jemma lets Daisy help her to her feet, carefully standing outside of Daisy's dance space. You know, just to make a point.

* * *

 

They've been at it two weeks before Daisy suggests that they meet up later in the evening to get in some more practice. This is a flimsy excuse at best and not one that Jemma is going to question. After all, she's never seen Daisy's cabin and it seems like a totally acceptable reason to sneak out after the rest of her family has gone to sleep. She quietly slips into her shoes, picking up her hardly read book and the room key, creeping toward the door without waking her parents or Lisa. She's gotten pretty good at the whole lying and sneaking around thing.

Daisy is waiting for her at the beginning of the path that winds through the back of the resort and toward the staff cabins, which are tucked safely out of sight, like the very sight of them will upset the guests paying so much money to stay here. Jemma reaches for Daisy's hand without thinking and they walk in silence down the same path that Jemma took weeks ago the night of the staff party that she crashed. Most of the staff cabins still have lights burning through the curtains but it seems like a quiet night among those tasked with maintaining the guest experience. Jemma half-heartedly hopes for another party in the future, just to see if she'd be willing to actually dance with Daisy this time.

"Ta da." Daisy says drily as she flicks on the light the illuminates the small, one-bedroom cabin that she calls home for the summer. "I know it's not as fancy as the digs you're used to."

It doesn't take long for Jemma to take in her surroundings; there's a small door that she assumes leads to the bathroom and the kitchen, which is little more than a sink and a mini-fridge, is clearly visible from anywhere she could possibly stand. She glances back toward Daisy. "No Jacuzzi?" She teases. "I'm leaving."

Jemma turns toward the door but Daisy quickly snags her hand, spinning her back against her chest. Jemma lifts an eyebrow. "Dance practice has started already?"

Rather than respond, Daisy leans in to kiss her. Jemma lets their lips brush together briefly before turning her head away. "You're in my dance space." She informs Daisy frankly, stepping backward and positioning their arms correctly so that only their palms are making contact.

Daisy rolls her eyes. "So I'm being punished now for being a good instructor?"

"Of course not." Jemma says breezily, trying to take the lead on their routine. It's much more complicated than she would have assumed. "But we only have a week until the end-of-summer show. Don't you think we should be prepared?"

Daisy makes a noncommittal noise, trying to hide her smile. "You know, I'm not sure how I feel about this new, sassy Jemma Simmons."

Just as Daisy dips her head, clearly trying to distract Jemma with another kiss, Jemma catches her chin between her fingers and clicks her tongue. "Eyes up." She chides. "We don't want you to trip, now do we?"

Daisy groans, mimicking Jemma's behavior from earlier and allowing herself to drop to the floor and onto her back, staring plaintively up at Jemma. Jemma shakes her head, smirking. "So dramatic."

When she holds her hand out to Daisy, she's not surprised when she's met with resistance. Daisy tugs on her, trying to pull Jemma down to the floor with her. It doesn't take much convincing for Jemma to allow herself to sink down to the ground, positioning her arms on either side of Daisy's shoulders so that she can peer down at the other girl. The impulse to offer another Daisy-inspired comment quickly vanishes when it becomes obvious how much better things they could be doing with their time right now.

It doesn't take long before they completely forget about dance practice.

* * *

 

"I should go." Jemma says sleepily, lifting her head to look at Daisy. "If I'm not back by morning, my parents will lose their minds."

Daisy wrinkles her nose. "Morning? That's like…forever away." She slips an arm around Jemma's waist, keeping her in place against her side. "Don't go."

Leaving is pretty much the opposite of what Jemma wants to do. What she wants to do is stay in this bed tucked beside Daisy forever and forget about everything else. But still, she forces herself to sit up, running a hand through her sleep tangled hair. "I have to." She whispers, leaning forward to kiss Daisy's forehead. "For now."

Daisy catches her before she can slip out of bed completely and Jemma allows herself to stay wrapped in Daisy for a while longer, kissing her, being close to her. But the moment doesn't last forever and soon they're both out of bed, hurriedly dressing in the dim light of the cabin.

Despite Jemma's protests that she can find her way easily enough, Daisy walks her out of the cabin and back down the path toward the guest rooms and bungalows. When they get to the spot where Daisy met her earlier in the night, Jemma takes a reluctant step backward, away from Daisy, though she doesn't quite manage to pull her hand free. "I think I can manage from here."

"Are you sure? I mean, you know this resort can get pretty dangerous at night." Daisy tells her with a shrug. "Wolves and mountain lions and bears. I would be happy to offer you protection."

Jemma lifts her eyebrows. "Bears?"

Daisy makes a face. "Well, maybe not bears." She admits. "Or wolves. Or mountain lions. But, you never know what could be out there."

Jemma smiles, stepping back toward her for a kiss. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Daisy kisses her and it's suddenly very tempting to go back to her cabin for just a little while longer.

"I knew it!"

Jemma pulls away from Daisy instantly, immediately recognizing the voice cutting through the darkness around them. She whirls around and it seems impossible and surreal to suddenly find herself facing Lisa, who should still be tucked safely in bed back inside their bungalow, not standing here, staring at her with a horrified and victorious expression on her face.

"I knew there was something going on with you." Lisa crows, grinning as she steps closer to Jemma and Daisy. She throws something at Jemma's feet and she instantly recognizes the book that she's been using as her cover, the one she left on the porch when she snuck off to see Daisy tonight. "I just had no idea it was this. Oh this is rich."

"Who is that?" Daisy questions and there's a hardness to her that Jemma doesn't recognize. Her expression is hard and closed off as she looks past Jemma toward Lisa.

"My sister." Jemma mutters as she robotically kneels down to pick up the book, holding it to her chest. "Lisa, what are you doing here?"

Lisa rolls her eyes, shaking her head. "You're really asking _me_ that?" She looks at Jemma like she's never seen her before in her life. "You're the one who's been sneaking out. You've been _lying_ to Mum and Dad. Wait until Dad knows what you've been doing."

Jemma opens her mouth to protest, to argue that she hasn't been doing anything, that her biggest crime should be lying to her parents, not anything that she's been doing with Daisy. But the words seem lodged in her throat, trapped there by the way that her thoughts are spinning around and she's trying to figure out how she went from laying in Daisy's bed to this.

"I'm sure Dad is going to love finding out that his perfect little princess has been slumming it with the help." Lisa grins victoriously and Jemma still feels like her tongue isn't connected to her brain, refusing to speak the words that she so desperately wants to say. "Which is pretty low, even for you."

"Lisa, you can't say anything-" But it's too late because her sister is already turning back in the direction of the bungalow, no doubt eager to wake their parents to share all that she's uncovered. Jemma starts after her but the fact that Daisy is also turning away, heading in the opposite direction seems more pressing at the moment.

Jemma turns toward her, brow furrowing. "Daisy, what-"

Daisy shakes her head. "I'm going back to my cabin. You know, for the help." She looks at Jemma with none of the usual softness that Jemma has become accustomed to. She looks so different from the girl that she just slept with.

"Daisy, what are you talking about?"

"What am _I_ talking about?" Daisy questions, turning back and stepping toward Jemma. "You weren't even going to defend me to your sister? Is that what you really think of me? Have you just been spending your summer slumming with the help?" She spits out.

Jemma's eyes grow wide and her mouth drops open. "Daisy, no. What are you talking about? I-"

"You know, I always wondered if you didn't want your parents to know about us." Daisy shrugs, holding up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Now I know the truth." She shakes her head, turning away. "I think the dance lessons are over."

Jemma hurries after her, grabbing Daisy's elbow in a desperate attempt to keep her from going. "Wait, Daisy. Listen. You can't just go-"

Daisy whirls back to face her suddenly and Jemma stumbles backward, surprised. "Yes, I can. I know you're used to ordering people around but I'm not on the clock." She pulls her elbow out of Jemma's grip. "I thought you were different but I'm not really sure that you are. And I guess that's on me."

This time, Jemma doesn't bother to hurry after her, watching as Daisy disappears into the darkness. She's starting to think that all the things that she's been told since she was little, about how she's some brilliant, perfect little genius has been nothing but a lie. Because she doesn't feel like her brain is working at all, let alone capable of processing everything that has just happened. The time she spent in Daisy's cabin doesn't even seem like it happened to her at all and she feels three steps behind everything else, like she's just finally catching up with Lisa's words and now she's having to process what Daisy has said too. And the fact that Daisy is gone. And gone with a sense of finality rather than the promise to see one another in the morning, which suddenly seems even farther away than it did five minutes ago.

For a minute, Jemma stays where she is, looking down the path where she last saw Daisy, as though still expecting to see her. She knows she could easily go to Daisy's cabin, to beg to be let in and explain herself and how she really feels about her. But for some reason she doesn't, certain that she won't be let in anyway.

Instead, she just turns and moves back toward her bungalow, her feet taking the steps as if on autopilot. She's slightly grateful for that because she's not sure there's enough room in her brain left to process anything else.

Jemma isn't all that surprised to open the door and find that Richard and Katherine are already waiting for her. Lisa is hanging back but it's obvious that she's planning on sticking around and gloating, enjoying every second of her victory.

Swallowing, Jemma just tosses aside her book and the room key, suddenly too tired to really care about anything other than the look in Daisy's eyes when she'd turned away for the last time. She suddenly really regrets coming here instead of trying to explain herself to Daisy.

The disappointed look that her father is currently giving her doesn't do anything to make up to how much she's disappointed in herself.

* * *

 

Jemma doesn't have anything resembling an appetite but it's obvious that her parents aren't just going to let her stay behind, all on her own, at the bungalow. She has a feeling that for the next several days, they're going to be doing everything together. She'd been surprised when Richard had informed her that they were staying until the end of the weekend, even though he'd already forbidden her from seeing Daisy again and, consequently, from participating in the end of season show. Clearly forcing her to sit around and watch said show is the highest form of punishment that he and Katherine can think of.

Honestly, Jemma doesn't care about any other forms of punishment they can invent or impose upon her. She's fully intending on sneaking away from them at the first possible moment and going to find Daisy.

Despite the amount of mental energy that is going into planning her escape, Jemma can't help but notice the looks that she's getting from Mack and Joey, who seem to be focused more on glaring at her than serving coffee and topping off waters. Finally, Jemma figures that she can't ignore the passive aggressive stares any longer and she gets to her feet, not bothering to excuse herself under the ploy of going back to the breakfast buffet.

Mack tries to step around her when she approaches him but she quickly steps in front of him, though she figures it wouldn't do much good if he really wanted to get past her. Thankfully, he stays put. "What's going on?" Jemma questions, keeping her voice low so as not to get Mack in trouble. "Where's Daisy?"

It's not like she expected to see Daisy lurking around, trying to sneak some breakfast while waiting for Coulson to give her the day's assignments but her absence suddenly seems off kilter.

Mack sighs, squaring his jaw. "Oh, you didn't hear?" There's an edge to his tone that whispering can't quite disguise. "She got fired this morning."

Jemma feels like she's perfecting the open-mouthed, round-eyed look of surprise. " _What_?"

"For fraternizing with the guests." Mack scoffs. "Which I'm sure should come as a complete surprise to you."

Jemma narrows her eyes. "But how would…" She trails off, glancing back toward the table where her parents are sitting. "Never mind."

She doesn't bother to say anything more to Mack as she returns to her table, nor does she bother to take her seat. Instead, Jemma just glares at her father. "You got her fired?" The interest in whispering as also taken a backseat to the anger that Jemma finally feels replacing the numb shock that she's been feeling all night. "How could you?"

Richard looks surprised, clearing his throat. "I did not such thing." But his voice lacks conviction. "I simply told Phil; I thought he might like to know what his employees were up to."

Jemma shakes her head. "How dare you?" She says again.

"Jemma, please." Katherine glances around nervously. "Sit down. Lower your voice."

Of course, Jemma ignores her, her focus purely on her father. "That was her job." She says. "You had no right to do that. She didn't do anything wrong."

"Well," Richard clears his throat again, "that might be debatable but-"

But Jemma isn't interested in this conversation any longer. Instead, she just shakes her head, turning away from the table and heading for the door, ignoring her parents as they call for her to stop and come back. She doesn't know why she wasted so much time trying to plot the perfect escape. In the end, it wasn't that hard just to walk away.

* * *

 

Jemma feels relief wash over when she gets to Daisy's cabin and finds the door already thrown open and Daisy herself still inside, throwing her things into a bag. And throwing is certainly not an exaggeration. Despite the way they left things last night, Jemma feels better just setting eyes on her, as though being near her again somehow pushes everything back where it should be and makes everything make sense again.

It's obvious when Daisy looks over and sees her in the doorway that she does not share Jemma's sentiments. Her eyes narrow and she tosses a pair of tattered flip-flops at her duffle bag. "What are you doing here?" She asks gruffly. "I'm busy."

"Daisy," Jemma steps into the cabin easily enough but once she's there, she seems to forget the bravery that sent her running here in the first place, "I'm so sorry-"

"About what?" Daisy sighs, stopping in her destructive packing to look at Jemma. "Last night? What your sister said? Or getting me fired?"

Jemma purses her lips. "I had no idea my father was going to say anything to Mr. Coulson. I'm going to talk to him and-"

Daisy flips her hand dismissively, turning away to give her attention back to her closet. "Don't bother. Rules are rules."

Jemma sighs, taking another step forward. "Can you stop?" She's not surprised when her words go ignored. "Daisy. Stop. Look at me."

"Why?" But, despite her words, Daisy turns to look at her anyway, her brow furrowed. "What's the point? What is there to say anymore?"

Jemma shakes her head. "Don't." She says softly. "Don't act like this is so easy for you."

Daisy narrows her eyes slightly. "Maybe it is." She retorts. "It seemed pretty easy for you to just sneak around and lie to your parents and keep me a secret and-"

"Stop." The word passes Jemma's lips sharper than she'd intended but it does the trick. "I love you, Daisy. And if you ever thought anything different, if you ever thought I was actually capable of thinking about you as nothing more than just 'the help' that I could write off then I don't think I'm the only one who should be apologizing."

Daisy opens her mouth to respond but she seems lost for words, closing her mouth again and shaking her head. She looks away quickly, turning away and kneeling beside her bag. "It doesn't matter."

Jemma doesn't believe that for a second. She's certain that nothing has ever mattered more. But that doesn't stop her from turning away and leaving the cabin before Daisy can see the tears that sting her eyes.

* * *

 

Clearly her parents knew what they were doing when they decided that keeping her at the resort was the best way to punish her for whatever transgressions they seem to feel that she had committed. Jemma feels like the days march on torturously slow, the hours serving no purpose other than to remind her of how it feels to be without Daisy in a place that used to be so full of her. Not to mention it provides her with plenty of opportunity to replay their last conversation in her mind, her brain traitorously pointing out all of the things that could have gone differently.

But there's another part of her that seems bent on convincing her that Daisy was right after all, that it really doesn't matter. Daisy had been fired and Jemma was still nothing more than one of the guests at the resort. What does it matter?

Thankfully Jemma has plenty of time to contemplate this rather depressing question, seeing as she's making a habit of avoiding conversation with her sister and parents, sitting instead on the porch outside of the bungalow, once again in the company of another book that she's not reading.

The end-of-season show marks the official end to the vacation that Lisa has been fighting against since it was first an inkling of an idea and Jemma honestly can't say that she's not just as eager as her sister to put the resort behind her. Thankfully she's been able to strike her name from the sign-up list but she couldn't quite manage to finagle her way out of attending.

Rather than continue to protest her parents' unusual form of parenting, Jemma sits down in silence, tucking herself into a corner of the main ballroom at the resort, ignoring Lisa when she sits down beside her. Katherine immediately tries to engage her daughters in conversation but only Lisa seems up for the task. As he sits, Richard glances toward Jemma. His brow furrows and Jemma thinks that she sees something almost like regret in his eyes. He opens his mouth to speak but seems to think better of it, shaking his head instead and taking his seat.

Her father doesn't have the opportunity to change his mind and offer some sort of parental wisdom because the show starts almost immediately after the find their seats. Jemma can't help but wonder if she actually would have been able to go through with her plan, if she would have been able to get on stage and dance with Daisy in front of everyone. Even now, the idea makes her feel a little bit like having a panic attack but even more it just makes her chest feel heavy with the ache of missing Daisy.

It doesn't take long for Jemma to start losing focus on the mishmash of talents and acts going on in front of her. She rests her head in her hand, letting her eyes wander. She's envious of the people who seem to actually be enjoying the show; she's even envious of the staff tasked with serving drinks and appetizers because at least they have something to do.

At first when Jemma spots Daisy standing near the doors with Mack and Lincoln, she's certain that her eyes are playing tricks on her. That she's been thinking about Daisy so much that she's started conjuring her up to give herself something to do other than allow herself to be bored to tears by a middle-aged man playing "Chopsticks."

But when Daisy meets her eyes and Jemma knows there's no question. She practically jumps to her feet, knocking her chair into Lisa's. She ignores her sister's protests and her mother's questions, turning instead toward Daisy. She hesitates only briefly before hurrying toward Daisy, unable to stop the smile from spreading across her face. She throws herself into Daisy's arms and Daisy holds her close.

Of course, it makes perfect sense to kiss her.

Regardless of all the attention that they happen to be getting. Regardless of the fact that Jemma knows that her parents are watching her, that everyone might be watching them. It doesn't seem to matter, not with Daisy's arms around her.

When Jemma pulls away, she's relieved to see the smile back on Daisy's face. It makes her want to start kissing her all over again. But she doesn't, asking instead, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I couldn't miss the end-of-season show." Daisy points out, as though it makes perfect sense for her to show up purely to see some self-indulgent guests display their talents. "Plus, someone pointed out to me that I might have a few apologizes of my own to make so I figured I should stop wasting time and say that I was sorry."

Jemma grins, kissing Daisy again. It's a sloppy and uncoordinated effort, thanks to her smile and the shared excitement over actually being able to kiss one another again. They'll be time later to actually make it count.

Jemma slips her arms around Daisy's shoulders, unwilling to let her go. If the way that Daisy is holding onto her is any indication, Jemma would assume that Daisy was just as content to stand there together, wrapped up in one another. But Daisy steps back, much to Jemma's surprise.

"So, what do you say?" Daisy questions, holding out her hand. "May I have this dance?"


End file.
